A truth that will not be admitted: An Educator’s point of view

For some reason, I keep seeing red herrings and non-sequiturs being thrown into discussions of “race and racially charged incidences”, and before anyone starts saying we are all one race, just know that I am using the term for educational purposes. Also, know that many Americans do believe we are different races, and that is a pity.

When you compare the KKK: “The Ku Klux Klan established in 1865, with its long history of violence, is the most infamous — and oldest — of American hate groups. Although black Americans have typically been the Klan's primary target, it also has attacked Jews, immigrants, gays and lesbians and, until recently, Catholics” https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/ku-klux-klan

To the Black Panthers:

“The Black Panther Party (BPP), was established in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The two leading revolutionary men created the national organization as a way to collectively combat white oppression, after constantly seeing black people suffer from the torturous practices of police officers around the nation” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/27-important-facts-everyone-should-know-about-the-black-panthers_us_56c4d853e4b08ffac1276462

And to BLM:

“Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people. BLM regularly holds protests against police killings of black people and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system” http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/

Comparing these groups are not like comparing apples and oranges which are both fruit, it is like comparing apples to chickens.

This is an apple:

This is a chicken:

They are nothing alike except they are both carbon base life forms.

·         Police brutality is real http://killedbypolice.net/

·       Justice is not equal (Gregory Gunn. Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Terence Crutcher just to name a few). Police are rarely held accountable for killing civilians, especially black men.

There are so many stats, and most of them are ignored unless it benefits those in power. What happened in Charlottesville, VA was terrible not just because of the violence, but also because Americans died fighting those Nazi ideals, and yet we ae letting them on the street? Those Nazis showed up armed but were not arrested? Etc.

America, at some point we have to face our past and truly confront it, and it will not be pretty. This is not only living memory, but people are living it. Telling people to “get over it” does not help and is insulting.

Think America! Feel! Act!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Do you know why Americans died in ww2? An education question and statement

Do you know why Americans died in ww2? An education question and statement

In regard to Charleville, VA this week

http://abcnews.go.com/US/unite-rally-virginia-sparks-counterprotests-state-emergency/story?id=49176243

“World War II fatality statistics vary, with estimates of total deaths ranging from 50 million to more than 80 million. The higher figure of over 80 million includes deaths from war-related disease and famine. World War II fatality statistics vary, with estimates of total deaths ranging from 50 million to more than 80 million”

 “World War II (1939-1945) ... The roots of World War II, which eventually pitted Germany, Japan, and Italy (the Axis) against the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union (the Allies), lay in the militaristic ideologies and expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan”. We were fighting fascism.

That is a lot of people.

Americans died fighting so they would not have to do that Nazi salute (all the axis powers used that salute by the way). Why the heck would you want to bring back that which so many AMERICANS died for? Nazism and its ideology, salutes, etc., is banned in Germany as well!

The AlT right are nothing but Nazis, that was proven this weekend. You might not mix with people of different skin colors, but if you consider yourself a patriot why the heck would you be using Nazi propaganda and rhetoric? WWII is very real to a large segment of the U.S population.

There is no excuse, no explanation that can clear this; as an educator and historian, I condemn this! As an American I condemn this! As a human, I condemn this!

That rally in Charlottesville had no place in the United States of America….

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

The far-reaching consequences of our criminal justice system

I learned something deep today: have you ever heard of “Collateral Consequences” in regard to the justice system? We all think we know how it affects people, but we mostly only know just the surface.

“Collateral consequences are legal and regulatory sanctions and restrictions that limit or prohibit people with criminal records from accessing employment, occupational licensing, housing, voting, education, and other opportunities. Collateral consequences most frequently affect people who have been convicted of a crime, though in some states an arrest alone—even an arrest that doesn't result in a conviction—may trigger a collateral consequence”.

“Some collateral consequences serve a legitimate public safety or regulatory function, such as keeping firearms out of the hands of people convicted of domestic violence offenses, prohibiting people convicted of abuse from working with children or the elderly, or barring people convicted of fraud from positions of public trust. Others are directly related to the particular crime, such as registration requirements for sex offenders, driver’s license restrictions for people convicted of serious traffic offense, or debarment of people convicted of fraud. But many collateral consequences apply to people convicted of any crime, without regard to any relationship between the crime and opportunity being restricted, and frequently without consideration of how long ago the crime occurred or the person’s rehabilitation efforts since. Collateral consequences with overbroad restrictions that offer no chance to overcome the restriction function as additional punishment and may discourage rehabilitation and ultimately increase recidivism”. 

“Collateral consequences are scattered throughout the codebooks and are frequently unknown even to those responsible for their administration and enforcement. They have been promulgated with little coordination in disparate sections of state and federal codes, which makes it difficult for anyone to identify all of the penalties and disabilities that may be triggered by a criminal record for a certain offense”. 

“While collateral consequences have been a familiar feature of the American justice system since colonial times, they have become more pervasive and more problematic in the past 20 years for three reasons: they are more numerous and impactful, they affect more people, and they are harder to avoid or mitigate. As a result, millions of Americans are consigned to a kind of a permanent legal limbo because of a crime they committed in the past”. 

https://niccc.csgjusticecenter.org/map/

It is calculated that the economy is missing out on approximately $87 Billion dollars a year on revenue because people with convictions are permanently labelled as criminals and cannot work due to these laws. Instead of someone being able to get a good solid job driving for UPS for example, they have to dig ditches for a living. Someone trained to be a barber cannot cut hair any longer because of this; about 40,000 collateral consequence!

I am going to quote something said to me today: “we as a society should not be counting recidivism rates as a measure of success, but rather, the quality of life of those who paid their debt to society”.

This is why criminal justice is a social issue: people should not be permanently labeled as criminals. If you believe this is true then you are not a true believer in justice, you simply believe in punishment.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

PS I should not have to tell you that the neighborhoods most affected by these rules are minority peoples.